CoinJar Stories: Alex Saunders & Nugget’s News

As Australia’s most popular cryptocurrency YouTuber, Alex Saunders’ own digital currency journey was prompted by a 50% loss in a more traditional investment choice — the stock market.

For those of us who’ve been interested in cryptocurrency since the early days, it’s likely you have heard of Alex Saunders, the man behind Nugget’s News. In the past 12 months, Alex’s YouTube channel has grown with the mainstream adoption of digital currency, with over 33,000 subscribers, close to 2 million views and over 300 videos.

Starting Nugget’s News

When the global financial crisis hit in 2007, Alex saw his share portfolio drop by 50% in value. It was the ultimate turning point for Alex to dive deep into learning more about the financial system through documentaries and articles online.

“Central Banks could not see a crash coming, that’s scary. Money is not backed by gold or anything, that’s scary. The world has $250T in debt, that’s scary.”

A few years later in 2012, Alex came across an article on Bitcoin featured in Zero Hedge. Just like many of us, he went down the rabbit hole, and eventually started Nugget’s News on YouTube, preferring to connect with his audience over a visual medium instead of written content.

“I always knew [Bitcoin] would win because it is better than any current form of money we have.”

All about the numbers

Nugget’s News was a passion project for Alex initially while he worked during the day as a pharmacist. His love for science, math, and numbers channelled into his ability to create helpful and popular content on the blockchain for his subscribers.

Spending all his spare time making videos has paid off for Alex, especially after the last rally. His channel exploded and he now works on Nugget’s News full time with the help of his team creating independent quality content.

“Our 5-year plan is really to be the driving force of crypto adoption in Australia.”

Before Nugget’s News became popular, Alex recognized the real potential for the medium when he started helping people over video chat. A client told him he should start a premium service.

“The timing was just right as crypto started to take off after all my years of learning myself!”

It’s not all sunshine and roses

Starting a small business is never without its challenges, and there is no exception even for the Nugget’s News team. Alex iterated that if he could do it all again, he would surround himself with good people to help with the stress and chaos of the early days.

“Everything is against starting a small business. So many hidden costs, ridiculous tax laws that don’t work in the crypto world. It’s easy to see why so many startups fail or move to other countries.”

On managing crypto portfolios

Alex has three digital currency portfolios – his long-term portfolio, his trading portfolio and the Nugget’s News business portfolio. He impressively manages them while juggling content creation for the Nugget’s News YouTube channel and its closed community group. Alex credits his successes so far to; having a plan, taking time away from the screen, going for a walk or meditating and of course, keeping emotion separate.

As for tips for any beginners, he maintains much of the same investment attitude that he adopts personally: don’t let emotion take over, don’t invest too much too soon (especially in the first thing you read about), take your time and know that everyone gets FOMO! (And of course, watch his free educational content on YouTube!)

6-confirmations

What are the top three most impactful cryptocurrencies and why?

Bitcoin, Ethereum & Horizon State. Money, the internet, and voting/decision making have become the three most centrally controlled part of our lives.

If you had $100 million, what crypto project would you support?

I would use the money to support as many start-up Australian projects as possible and spread crypto adoption in Australia.

What don’t you like about your job?

Stress and the business side of things. I just want to make videos and content.

What hobby do you get up to to decompress and take your mind off work?

Cricket has always been my favorite sport. I still play over summer.

What are the top three apps you can’t live without?

As much as people love to hate on Facebook, they continue to be an important part of most online businesses these days. I pretty much live on Twitter and watching educational videos on YouTube all day. But crypto apps – everyone should download Jaxx Wallet, TabTrader and Blockfolio or Delta.

What is an unpopular opinion that you hold?

That 99.9% of coins will go to 0 in 2-3 years. Bitcoin & one other platform will dominate 80% of the market share, just as Facebook & Google do now. Hard part is picking that platform. At the moment, Ethereum has a 3 year head start.

Apart from their YouTube channel, the Nugget’s News team also run a closed 24/7 online crypto community with over 1500 members where Alex and the community share their thoughts, tips, and tricks for navigating the blockchain space.

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